Crucible and Perfume- Comaparitive Essay (Draft)

Many people judge other people based on first impressions. It can shape a person’s view on one person depending on what type of impression they gave. The setting of a story operates in a similar fashion; in fact it can tell the reader if a story is going to be very depressing or very cheerful. The setting can provide clues such as weather, clothing and environment which can help create a perception as to what type of story is being displayed. Perfume and The crucible both embark with a setting which depicts the book as very dark, gloomy and mysterious. Arthur Miller and Patrick Suskind have written the books with a similar beginning but in a different variation, depicting the theme of evil.
In the story Perfume, Patrick Suskind begins the story with a very dirty environment. It becomes very clear with the smelly fish market, a mother who tries and kills her son Grenouille. Paris which is where the setting took place was depicted as very unclean and it was normal for everyone to have an odor. Grenouille was an odd ball and did not flow well with the norms of that society. He did not have an odor, was extremely intelligent and near to perfect, as well as very hardworking. The other children in the book were portrayed as very lazy and did not perform well at the tasks that they were given. Grenouille was seen as mysterious as to the abilities that he possessed. In the story The Crucible, Arthur Miller begins the plot with a mysterious bunch of women dancing in the forest performing some kind of black magic. This immediately gave a sense of mystery and an environment which was dark and gloomy. The forest was depicted as dark and covered with trees, and definitely seemed like a place people in those days would not want to stand around just for fun. This story also referred to social norms, especially because these women were doing black magic which was considered abnormal and something society would down upon.

Perfume later translated into a novel about Grenouille, who was first seen as abnormal and the opposite of society. He would kill women for their scent and for nothing further, this depicts evil. Even if Grenouille killed them for only their scent and not to rape or commit robbery on them, he was killing many virgin girls. The setting of the story plays nicely with the theme of evil, especially when Grenouille himself was faced with evil. His own mother tried to kill him, and Madame Gaillard even questioned later as to why she took Grenouille into her home, in the first place. One of the most key indicators of evil was how people didn’t see any good in Grenouille. The setting displayed how people thought that he was the devils child, because he had no odor and seemed to do his entire task with perfection and was very helpful. Many other kids around him seemed to be the opposite of that, and were portrayed as the normal bunch in that particular society.

The crucible took place in Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1962. Witchcraft during those times was forbidden and people would be sentenced to hang if they were a witch or practicing black magic. If people heard someone was a witch in our modern day society, people will take you for a joker. The setting of the crucible displayed evil through the mysterious dance by the women in the forest. It was very dark and foggy outside, and they were all surrounded by trees. In a typical horror film, that would mean monsters coming out from behind the trees or a killer waiting to prey on the innocent. Black magic was also considered very evil and something related closely with the devil.

Both The Crucible and Perfume depict evil in the setting of their stories. The setting can help shape an impression on the reader, and in these two stories, the feeling of mystery, gloominess and darkness display signs of an evil theme.